North Korea is preparing its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit as well as tests of long-range missiles to mark a key national anniversary and protest efforts by the United States to strengthen its regional alliances, South Korea’s intelligence service told lawmakers. North Korean leader Kim Jong UN has been expected to conduct weapons tests in response to major US-South Korean military drills that begin next week and a trilateral US-South Korea-Japan summit at Camp David in the United States this Friday. The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that North Korea may try to launch a spy satellite in late August or early September ahead of the country’s 75th anniversary on September 9, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing.
The NIS said North Korea has been testing an engine for the rocket to be used for the satellite launch and has installed an additional land antenna to receive satellite data, Yoo said. Kim has vowed to produce a number of high-tech weapons systems including a military reconnaissance satellite. North Korea attempted a satellite launch in late May, but the rocket crashed into the ocean soon after lift-off. North Korean state media said it lost thrust following the separation of its first and second stages. South Korea’s military has said that debris from the satellite indicated it wasn’t advanced enough to conduct military reconnaissance as claimed.
The NIS said it also has detected unusually heavy activities at a North Korean facility that produces solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missiles and at another site related to liquid-fuelled ICBMs, Yoo said in a televised briefing. The NIS said the launch preparations are intended to protest the Camp David summit or the US-South Korean military drills that begin next Monday, Yoo said. North Korea is extremely sensitive to US efforts to bolster its alliances with South Korea and Japan.
